During a sentencing hearing for conservative filmmaker and author Dinesh D'Souza a judge played a five minute clip from
Newsmax TV during which he denied allegations of campaign finance violations, and insisted he was being targeted for his political beliefs,
the New York Post reported.
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The interview was meant to cast a poor light on D'Souza who subsequently pleaded guilty to the charges of using straw donors to support the New York Senate campaign of a longtime friend, Wendy Long. He subsequently admitted to the judge that funneling the donations was a "stupid idea."
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Manhattan federal Judge Richard Berman lambasted the 53-year-old's character during the three-hour hearing but stopped short of sentencing him to prison time.
"I think I've figured out a little more about Mr. D'Souza," said Berman. "He's a talker. He's a compulsive talker. I don't think he's a listener."
Berman also cited a letter he received from D'Souza's estranged wife who accused him of lacking "truthfulness" and assaulting her in April 2012. She also claimed that D'Souza personally gained from arranging the donations because Long connected him with a top investor for his film, "2016: Obama's America," the Post reported.
D'Souza was given eight months in a halfway house, community service, and weekly "therapeutic counseling." He had been facing 10 to 16 months in jail and $250,000 in fines.
"I am just relieved and I want to thank the judge for issuing a fair sentence," D'Souza said, according to the Post.
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